I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to stands for holding a smoking pipe and more particularly to such a stand which is easily folded into a substantially flat shape so that it can be easily carried in a clothing pocket.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Smoking pipes come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The shapes of the bowls and stems of the pipes are often designed for the sake of appearance or comfort and are not generally designed to be self-supporting. Some previously-known pipes are provided with a flat-bottomed bowl so that they can stand upright on a flat surface such as a table. Nevertheless, even these pipes can be toppled easily, especially when the pipes are designed for appearance or handling ease and the center of gravity is not positioned directly over the flat bottom so that the pipe is well balanced.
Many previously-known pipe holders or supports are disadvantageous in that they are designed to hold the plurality of pipes and are therefore bulky and not easily transportable. Other previously known pipe holders such as the stand disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,894,080, designed to hold a single smoking pipe are designed for use only with straight stem pipes and are not adapted for use with curved stem pipes. Still others such as the pipe holder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,782 to Schulte, which can be used to hold a pipe having a curved stem as well as a pipe having a straight stem, are quite bulky and thus inconvenient for the pipe smoker to easily carry on his person.